out with the old

Say Farewell to Your Laptop

AT&T predicts tablets will spell computers' doom.

AT&T thinks that the tablet computer is going replace laptops for good. For $1,000, a company exec says, people are going to buy devices that fill all the needs their laptops do now. "You're going to see those 10-inch pieces of glass become full-on computers," said the company's emerging devices president. He predicted that tablets costing $300 to $1000 will come onto the market in the next five years. Right now Apple's iPad sells for between $499 and $829. One researcher predicts that tablet sales will jump 23 percent by 2015. “Starting in 2012, tablets will outsell netbooks, and by 2014, more consumers will use tablets than will use netbooks,” the industry researcher said. Among the companies eyeing the tablet market are Research in Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry, as well as Google and Verizon Wireless.